Premier Mao Chi-kuo accompanied President Ma Ying-jeou today to the first Golden Community-Care Station Awards ceremony to honor the nation's outstanding community-care centers for the elderly.
In his address, Mao stated that caring for senior citizens is an administrative goal he announced upon becoming premier. Since Taiwan will soon become an aged society, the government has been proactively promoting community-care stations to enhance communities' care and support functions, so as to extend seniors' healthy years, reduce the number who become disabled, and help the elderly age healthfully in their own communities.
The long-term care services act, a critical law in response to an aging society, has finally been passed by the Legislature, the premier pointed out. The government aims to follow it up with a long-term insurance act. The act would finance long-term care services and make long-term care systems and legislation more comprehensive, providing much-needed medical and nursing care for the approximately 16 percent of seniors who are disabled or have dementia.
To help the 84 percent of seniors who are healthy or relatively healthy, the government is proactively promoting social support systems. One such mechanism is the community-care stations, a system that evolved out of pluralistic forces interacting with social resources. A station is set up in the community as a unit and integrates with the ubiquitous private organizations, volunteer groups and social enterprises on the island. Care is provided to local elderly via visitations, meals catering and health-inducing activities.
The premier pointed out that the number of community-care stations nationwide has increased from 1,936 in 2014 to 2,431 in 2015. If recreational centers, elderly centers and community colleges are also included, there are about 3,200 centers nationwide, a sizable preliminary scope that will be further expanded to encompass more diverse and enriched contents.
The Ministry of Health and Welfare stated that the Golden Community-Care Station Awards is the first ceremony to honor these stations since they were first promoted 10 years ago. The awards are meant to honor the efforts of county and city governments, private organizations and individuals who have contributed much to the long-term care of the elderly. It is hoped that this public recognition will encourage citizens and groups to establish more community-care stations so that more elderly people will receive care in their own communities.